The Irish standard., 1887-12-31

perhaps. Gut3 surrey youlu dHu Iue
hopes OF a worldly future. Ask them
why. For love Of Christ. He is the
invisible lover, whose love surpasses all
other lovers and leads captive in every
age.
HIS CHOSEN BANDS.
s'Tbat love makes the virgin the Sis
ter Of Charity, the mother of the
orphan and the poor, the guardian OF
the fa]les. the Rurse OF the sick, the
comforter of humanity in its every mis-
cry and suffering. That love makes
the priest the missionary and the mar
tyr. Have they no notivep Are they
fools! They are crazed by love, mad
dened by the folly OF the cross Every
love is folly to him who understands it
not. Polycarp, the aged bishop Of
Smyrna, is before the pro.consul
Swear by the fortunes Of Ces and
have done with Christ; Eighty and
six years have been His servant and
He has never wronged me. Why
should. I blaspheme my king and
Saviour And in that love he died at
the stake. Child said Queen Blanche
to st. Louis, Il had rather ses thee drop
dead at my feet than be ray the love
Of Christ by one mortal SIM While
Syrnphorian is led to execution outside
the walls of Autun, his old mother
mounts the ramparts, like general TO
cheer On big men, and cries out to him
as be passes, Courage, Symphorian,
my son; remember Christ, for whom
thou goest to dle.' Loved above all!
These ars but three instances OF mil
lions. Yes. millions, untold millions
have renounced father and mother.
husband and wife and children and life
for the love OF Christ, the Babe of Beth
lehem, the victim OF Calvary, Simon,
the son Of JOHN, lowest thou Mep' Yea,
my Lord, Thou knovest I love Thee.
Christ has lived before His birth. He
has lived and still lives after His death.
I sag He js~ ~Scd. I SUM up and cllnch
the argument with the following words
spoken in the solitude Of his exile, on
the bleak island CT st. Helena, by that
wonderful man who swayed the destin-
ies OF Europe in ths FIRST years OF this
century:
L have been accustomed to put before
me the examples OF Alexander and
Caesar, with the hope OF rivaling thciT
exploits and living in the minds Of
men forever. Yet, after all in what
sense does Caesar, iii what sense does
Alexander live? Who knows or cares
anything about them? AT bsst, moth
ing but their na ues is known.
NAY EVEN THEIR NAMES
do bat fit up and down the world like
ghosts, mentioned only on particular
occasions or from accidental asyocin-
tions. Their chief home il the school
roon: they are splendid examples tor
themeE. But there il one name that
lives; it is the name OF one who has
passes, his years in ohscuyity. and d4eG
q rnalsfactor's death. Eightesn hun-
t!red years nave gone since that time,
baS stiIl IL has it's hold upon tho human
mind. 1t has possessed tina world, and
it naaintalns it's POSSESSIONS Here
thsaa ia ono who is not a maye name,
who is not r. mers fiction, who is g
reality. He is dead and gone, but still
Hs liyss- lives as ths liviag, energetic
thought Of successiye generations, as
the awful motive power OF & thousand
grest events. Can Hs be Less than di-
yine? Who 10 He but the Creator Him
sslf, vino is sovereign over His own
works, toward whom cur eyes aud
hearts tur!, instinctiyely because He is
our Master, our Brother and our God, ,
So spoke Napoleon.
"Love is not mere sentiment. but
the hardest, though sweetest Of hard
facts: it means self elf-forgetfulness. self
denial. obedience, sacrifice for the sake
of the loved one. Is your love for cur
.,.ord such as this2 He who keeps NY
loveth Me- Look we'll
into your lives. Candidly, have they
been and are they expression and evi
dence Of true love? If you cannot ap-
ply the test of the keeping of the COM
mandments, you must give sorrowful
answer, No. Amen. amen, [ say unto
you, whatsoever ye do to the Least OF
these, my brethren, ye do unto ms. 7
Those brethren whom he makes his
OWE representatives are the poor,s the
sick, tho orphan, the abandoned and all
the suffering members of our common
humanity. Have you loved them With
an effective lover If not, neither have
YOU loved Christ. Oh, brethren, by all
the touching memories of this day, by
all the glorious traditions of your
Christian ancestry, [ appeal to you and
( WOO you--oh, that l could win--you
to the love Of Christ.
"Ok, that we could make our own
the words CT St. Paul, be able to say
with him: 'Who, then, shall separate
us from the love of Christ! Shall trib-